I'm about to embark on reloading some .45 Schofield in order to have some light "cowboy"loads for a clone of a Colt 1851 blackpowder pistol with a cartridge conversion cylinder. I have a set of Lee dies for .45 Colt. Will those also load .45 Schofield. or do I need dies specifically for that cartridge?

I already have Lee dies for .45 Colt. Christmas or not, I'm on a limited income and I can't spend money I don't need to spend. I would like to know if the Lee .45 Colt dies can also load .45 Schofield. If the RCBS dies do both, I would hope the Lee dies will also do both.

I scrounged and used one of my other Lee holders (303 Britt I think) and it worked just fine."

I must have read the #5 post differently than you, I read it as the Lee 45 Colt Dies WILL load 45 Scholfield. And as referenced, he had to find the appropriate shell holder to get the job done. Wouldn't that work for you?Merry Christmas Hawkmoon!!

That might work -- IF I had a shell holder to fit the .45 Schofield brass. But I don't load any rifle calibers (yet), and my .45 ACP shell holder won't help. So I decided to just (pardon me for this) "bite the bullet" and buy the 3-die .45 Schofield set from Lee (actually, from a Lee dealer). Since it's a three-die set, it'll be a good excuse to try that Lee Pro 1000 progressive press I've had sitting around for a couple or three years, wondering what I was going to do with it.

Well, I guess I won't be trying out the Pro 1000. Once again, I forgot about shell holders. The die set will (I expect, and hope) include a shell holder for a single stage press, but I don't have anything for the Pro 1000 to take .45 Schofield brass. So I guess I either use the Turret Press, or the single stage.

Does anyone know what shell plate I would need to do .45 Schofield in the Pro 1000?

Lee's web site seems to be a mass of contradiction and misinformation.

Still trying to get into loading .45 Schofield. I've always primed off the press, using a Lee Auto Prime. I have their standard set of shell holders for the Auto Prime, but there doesn't seem to be one that's quite right for .45 Schofield. I'm using a number 5, but it's a loose fit and about one out of three cases, when I squeeze the handle to seat the primer, the case rim gets pushed up and wedged into the shell holder. Then I have to stop, take it apart, and manually pry the case out.

Lee's web site shows some shell holders for the Auto Prime other than the ones that come in the set, but the information regarding what holder fits what cartridge doesn't seem right. #11 is listed for both .44 Special/.44 Mag and for .45 Colt. That seems unlikely. And then #14 is listed for .38/40 and .44/40

Then if I go to the chart for the universal press shell holders, I get different information.

The chart shows the #11 for .45 Colt and the #14 for .45 Schofield. But if you click on #14, the detailed description says it fits .44/40 and .45 Long Colt. Off the top of my head, I'd say that's impossible.

I'm baffled. I sent off an inquiry to Lee to see if they can provide better information. Since it's a holiday weekend and I don't expect a response for several days, does anyone happen to know what number shell holder they use for .44 Special/.44 magnum, .45 Colt, and/or .44/40? If anyone loads for .45 Schofield, what number shell holder or shell plate do you use?

Here's a pic of the universal shell holder chart that you are referring to. Indeed the 45 Colt is able to use the #11 and #14 shell holder (just tried it). The 44/40 only uses the #14 shell holder, again I just tried it. IMO, the 45 Colt fits best in the #11 shell holder. I prime off ALL my presses, including my Dillon 650, it's just how I like to prime, and I use the Lee priming system.